Human (5 page)

"Whatever happens, don't move," Devin ordered, his eyes transfixed to the mirror's shiny surface. I stared at the mirror, unsure what exactly was supposed to happen. Devin probably knew, so I figured it was better to do as he said. I could see in the mirror that Devin's eyes were black again, but then his features distorted. I realized it was the mirror's surface that was changing, almost melting away to let something red pass through it. Ok, if a demon walked out of it, I was going to bolt no matter what.

A pair of black obsidian eyes stared from the mirror, which was surrounded by a red mist. I didn't dare to move as those creepy eyes turned to me.

"Is her mind frozen in time?" a deep masculine voice asked.

"Yes," Devin said. I'd seen movies and read about demons communicating through mirrors, but that definitely hadn't made me ready for this. It was harder and harder to stay calm and unmoving. Not to mention Devin was a demon and a liar. What if he planned to sacrifice me or let this other demon possess my body?

"Not yet. But she goes to school here. I'm sure of that." Devin looked a bit nervous, almost like he wanted this conversation to end immediately.

"Try to find her," the voice sighed, "and be careful. The angels know you're here."

"I will." The mist started retracting, and the black eyes were gone. I let out a breath I hadn't even known I'd been holding. The mirror looked normal again, without any trace of the demon mojo. But it wasn't the time to relax because another demon was standing nearby. Just because he came in a pretty, human-looking package didn't mean he was harmless. In fact, it was most likely the opposite.

"Did you see that?" Devin asked, startling me. Was that a trick question? Should I pretend I hadn't seen anything?

"It was hard not to," I finally said, hoping it was the right answer.

"Are you a demon?" That question sounded so odd coming from Devin's mouth. His face lit up with wonder. "Only demons can see through the demon magic and be unaffected by mind spells. But why aren't your eyes changing?"

I gaped at him, my mind trying to process the information he had just given me. So according to him,
I
was a demon. Now that was just plain ridiculous. I had to force myself not to burst out laughing because that might piss him off.

"I'm not..." And what if I was? It was true I could see demons and had these weird visions, but that was all because of Devin. Besides, he could be lying about it all, only I couldn't figure it out what would he get by convincing me I was one of his kind. Except if I belonged to the other side.

"You have to be," Devin said excitedly.

"I don't believe you." The demons were looking for some girl who was also an angel. Maybe I was... No. What was wrong with me? How could I even for a second consider that? Me being an angel? Yeah, not likely. Demon was more plausible, but I didn't consider myself evil. Nah, I was just a human with a bad reaction to demons.

"Look, I was just a normal girl until you showed up." I crossed my arms in front of me. "And it doesn't really matter whether I'm human, demon or a damn vampire. All I want to know is who you are and what do you want."

"What's a vampire?" he asked, confused. Oh, so there were angels and demons, but no vampires? No mysterious, super hot bloodsuckers who would love you forever? Now that was totally unfair.

But forever 25 or 30 probably was, unless they continued counting their years no matter what. However, I was dealing with an inexperienced demon, and that was good for me. The only problem was that I knew nothing about demons. I highly doubted my Religion classes would be of any help.

"And what do we do now?" I said, not convinced. No matter what he said, there was no way I was going to believe him. I believed my parents more than some demon. Unless my grandmother had meant literally when she'd said I was acting like a little demon when I was a child.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. What do you say to something like that? And what did he mean by risking his life? Wasn't he, like, immortal?

"I guess I'll have to ask my parents," I finally said, trying to buy some time before I decided what to do.

"If you really know nothing, then they probably won't be able to tell you," Devin said. "The demons who want to hide their children in the human world can easily do so by replacing the real children. The parents will never know because the demons carefully choose those of similar features. Even a blood test won't show anything suspicious because there's a spell for it."

"What happens to the real children?" I was in shock, wondering how many demons were hiding in our world. It was a creepy thought. And I might be one of them. Oh God. Wait, could I even think about God? Wouldn't I burst into flames or something?

He didn't answer me, which was probably a sign I didn't want to know the truth.

"What do you want from me?" I asked for who knows what time.

"Your help," he said, and I gaped at him like a fish. A demon needed my help? Ah, awesome. What could I actually do that he couldn't?

"How could
I
help you?" I searched his face for any indication that he wasn't telling me the truth, but I wasn't a lying detector.

"You know this world, and I don't have to hide who I am in front of you. You can show me things,..." His face darkened a bit. "But if you tell anyone about me, I'm going to tell the other demons about you, and then you'll see what Hell looks like."

I shuddered because there was something in his cerulean eyes that told me he was serious and that I wouldn't like Hell at all, even if I was actually a demon.

"All right," I found myself saying, "I'll help you."

The bell rang, announcing the end of our short break, and I wondered how no one had walked in here and interrupted us. Devin must have been using his demon powers to keep everyone away because I couldn't imagine girls not coming to check on their make-up or hair.

Devin was already at the door and held it open for me. I was still a little bit shaken by everything that had happened that I didn't even think how awkward it would be to walk out of the girls' restroom with a boy. Brenda's angry face greeted me as soon as I stepped outside. She opened her mouth to yell at me for locking myself inside, but then her emerald eyes widened as she saw Devin behind my back. I could only guess what she thought we'd been doing and I felt myself grinning at her. She abruptly turned around, her curly dark brown hair fluttering behind her as she hurried back to the class.

"Why did she stare at us like that?" Devin whispered as we neared the classroom. The hall was mostly empty, but I still looked around before answering. There was a good chance Brenda was jealous and wouldn't tell anyone what she had witnessed. We didn't need anyone else to find out.

"She thinks we've been making out."

"In the restroom?" He looked puzzled. So the making out part made perfect sense to him and the restroom was a problem? Oook.

"Yeah, people do that sometimes."

He didn't say anything because we reached the classroom. A few students gave us strange looks but probably assumed we had run into each other at the door. Brenda's lips were pressed in a tight line and she clearly wished me to drop dead. No matter how much I enjoyed pissing her off, I didn't want her to become my enemy. Maybe I should have asked Devin what he'd put in her mind. I just hoped he hadn't made her think he was her ex or something.

Italia's dark brown eyes regarded me curiously as I sat down. I knew she probably had tons of questions for me, beginning with my hasty leaving without a word to her, but that could wait until the end of the class.

A dark-haired woman appears in front of me out of nowhere, her black eyes flash to cerulean blue as she extends her pale arms towards me. I
gasp, taking a step back, but the distance between us doesn't change.

"Who are you?" I whisper, trying to figure it out
is this a vision or a dream. But I can't see anything except the darkness and her beautiful, inviting face.

"You know who I am," she says
, and something clicks together in my mind, which seems to be in some sort of a haze.

"Melissa," I say and she nods.

"You have to save him." Her cerulean eyes seem sad and worried. I know those eyes, but I can't quite remember how.

"Save who?"

"My son." She absently pats her flat stomach. I don't understand what she wants from me. Isn't she supposed to be dead? Isn't her son dead too?

"Are you a ghost?" I ask before I can stop myself. I don't know why am I trying to rationalize a dream. Because it is a dream, right? But why can't I wake up then?

A shadow of a smile stretches her lips
, and she shakes her head.

"What are you then?" Could she have survived being stabbed in the heart? If she's a demon, maybe yes.

"
Only a shadow of what I used to be," she says, her huge red wings fluttering open behind her slim figure. Once again, I try to back away, but nothing happens.

"Help my son," she repeats, staring intently at me like that is going to make me do whatever she wants.

"How?" I pinch myself hard, but I don't wake up. Yet I know this is a dream.

"Kill him." Her sweet voice fills my head, resonates through my mind like some old chant.
It's suddenly hard to breathe, and I cover my ears in a futile attempt to stop hearing her.

I found myself staring at the ceiling of my room, wide awake. Melissa's words were still fresh in my mind, but at least I could think clearly. These dreams or visions were really starting to get on my nerves, just like the inability to come out of them when I wanted. I had no idea was there a way to control that.

Glancing at my clock, I realized it was the middle of the night. Great, how was I supposed to go back to sleep after this? Now I had too many things to think about and sort out. Unfortunately, I knew I wasn't going to figure out much without Devin's help. Only I couldn't really tell him a woman who was probably his dead mother wanted me to kill him, could I? And what if it all had been just a dream? A horrible, very vivid and realistic dream, but a dream nevertheless? Surely a demon woman, even a desperate one, wouldn't ask
me
to kill someone. Was it my subconscious trying to tell me Devin was dangerous? Yeah, like I didn't know that one already.

I closed my eyes but was afraid to go to sleep. I definitely didn't need any more dreams about demons or angels, so I turned on the lights and went over to the mirror. My reflection startled me so much that I gasped. There were dark bags under my eyes, almost like I had smeared my make-up or turned into a raccoon. Without any more sleep, I was going to look like a zombie in the morning.

My cell phone vibrated on the nightstand, making me jump. I stared at it wide eyed because I was sure I'd turned it off before going to bed. Not even daring to blink, I went over to the nightstand. The screen of my cell phone was glowing white, a message symbol in the middle of it. Who could be sending me messages this late?

I slowly picked it up, my heart beating like crazy. Could demons control cell phones? Once again, I was clueless. I didn't recognize the number of the sender, but when I read the message, it chilled me to the bone.

I saw the lights, so I know you must be awake. Need to talk to you. Look outside.

There was no signature, but somehow I knew someone was really standing in front of my house. Should I go wake up my parents? Call the police? The only problem was that whoever was outside probably wasn't human and would be gone before I managed to do anything, leaving me alone to deal with the consequences of a false alarm.

Taking a deep breath to calm my speeding pulse, I took a step towards the window and peeked outside. Everything was wet from the melting snow, and the sky had some weird reddish hue to it. The street lamp in front of my house wasn't working, which only scared me more. My breath got stuck in my throat when I saw a dark silhouette just across the street, near one of the huge oak trees. It was a man; that much I could tell from his posture and height.

He seemed to lift his head and look straight at me, then he waved. I gasped, stepping away from the window. Who was the freak who was standing in front of my house in the middle of the night despite the cold? If he really thought I was going to go out of the safety and warmth of my home to meet him, he was insane.